Copacabana
by Cinderfire16
Summary: "Am I the only one who sees the dreadful irony that's probably going to unfold?" How a night on the town almost went completely south. Teamfic. T for cursing and bar fights and because Tony is Tony.
1. Copacabana? That's just bad luck!

_My first Avengers story and hopefully an excerpt of good things to come. For those of you following my other stories, thank you. I appreciate your words and I will update soon, I promise! But... I listened to the song that inspired this piece (the Glee version, sadly) and **it wouldn't leave me alone**! So without further ado, here's..._

**Copacabana**

"C'mon, Peps, you have to come with us! This is just as much of a break for you as it is for the team."

"I don't think-"

"You've been working pretty much non-stop since you became my PA, probably before that. You deserve far more than just a night on the town but until you actually take your paid leave that you've been saving up for like a million months I say we enjoy a few drinks and forget all about those assholes on the Board, huh?"

"They're your employees, Tony."

"I know, but man they are annoying sometimes. Why do you think I don't go to meetings?"

"You should."

"I do," he amended. "just not often."

"Well you should come more."

"And you should take a load off. Since I don't think this is really going anywhere, how about I make a deal."

"I'm listening," She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't like this.

"You go with me and the others to the bar and forget all about work for the whole night and I'll come to the next few meetings. Hell, I might even add a bit of input. Believe it or not I have been paying attention."

"Good to know, Mr. Stark." She chuckled. "I don't know about this, Tony, something feels off… like everything's going to go wrong."

"And when it does you can say I told you so and I'll admit you were right. Until then, to the bar!"

_**AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA**_

"Am I the only one who sees the dreadful irony that's probably going to unfold?" Bruce wondered when they saw the name of the bar.

_**Copacabana**_ flashed in big red lights.

"Of course you aren't, Brucie, but since I have you guys and I don't plan on getting shot, we're good."

"What is this irony you speak of?" Thor demanded. "And why would it injure the Man of Iron so?"

"I'll let you know when it happens, Thor. For now, we pray that it doesn't."

"Whose idea was this again?" Pepper sighed.

"Natasha's strangely enough. She got a tip that they serve awesome vodka and we could all use a drink so we agreed." Clint explained.

"And of course Tony roped me into going with you."

"It would seem so."

_**AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA**_

Tony was having an awesome time, and he wasn't even drunk yet. Nowhere near it, actually. He was chatting up the bartender as the man served drinks and occasionally poured Tony a drink. His eyes roamed around the room, stopping when he noticed that Pepper wasn't at the table. He glanced around wildly, sighing in relief when he realized that she was just going to the bathroom. Natasha stood a few feet away from the door, able to stop any possible confrontation her old boss might get into.

He went back to his drink, making sure to keep an eye out.

**_AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA_**

Pepper was making her way back to the table when she was stopped by a large man who clearly had way too much to drink.

"Hey, sugar, whadda ya say we ditch whoever you came with and go back to my place?"

"I'd rather not." She hissed, turning to leave. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back, forcing her to get a whiff of his breath. She coughed a bit and her eyes blurred. Where was Tony when she needed him?!

"Well, sugar, I don't think you have a choice." He whispered. She froze. This was not good. Oh she was going to kill Tony when they got home…

A blur catch her attention and she was dropped back onto her feet. Tony engulfed her in a hug which she accepted gratefully before he gently pushed her toward Natasha.

"You have no idea what the word no means, do you, asshole?" He sneered. His eyes were cold and she recognized the look immediately.

"Tony, don't do this. I'm fi-"

"You're definitely not fine." Bruce growled. Clint guided her back from where the fight was going on. The two newly-made enemies instigated an all-out bar fight and now chairs were being thrown. The stench of blood almost made her sick and she buried her face into Clint's arm. He sat her back at the table and disappeared.

"Are you going to be alright?"

At least Natasha was here.

The room went silent with the BANG that accompanied a gunshot. She leapt to her feet and raced over just in time to see Tony in a crumpled heap, the man standing over him and prepared to fire again. That was IT! Going on instinct and struggling to recall what Tony had taught her, she lunged for the man, tackling him to the ground but shifting so that she stood beside him before anyone could react. A few more well-aimed kicks and punches and the man was down for the count.

_Why didn't I do this when he grabbed me the first time?! _She berated herself. If she hadn't frozen up like a good-for-nothing little girl then Tony would be okay.

**Don't worry, Pep, I'm not dead.**

_Tony?_ She recognized his voice immediately, but briefly wondered why she could hear him when he wasn't speaking.

**Yeah**.

_I'm so sorry…_

**Don't be, it wasn't your fault. That guy had no rights to put his hands on you**.

_You'll be okay, won't you?_

**My pulse will get lower and I might lose some blood but it was a clean shot so I should heal just fine. Tell the others to take me back to the tower and set me up in the medical wing. Bruce will handle things from there.**

_He knows?_

**He knows I can heal. He doesn't know everything you do.**

_Okay…_

"Take him back to the tower." She told Bruce. The doctor nodded.

"Considering his conditions that would be the best course of action. Clint and Steve are bringing the car around to take us home. Thor, can you help me with him?"

"Certainly, Doctor. I would be honored."

Thor was relatively gentle for being so huge, she mused.

_**AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA**_

The first thing Tony noticed when he woke up was the warmth that enclosed him. Sure enough, Pepper was by his side and he was in their bed. He briefly wondered how long he was out and what had occurred since the fight. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. He chuckled softly.

"Does this mean you're awake?" He asked.

Her eyes snapped open and buried her face in his neck.

"Tony!" She cried, her voice muffled by his skin.

"Oh thank God! I was beginning to think you would never wake up! You were as still as a corpse and half as responsive and oh my god… you barely looked like you were breathing let alone alive!" She snapped.

"I am never going out with you again!"

"Aw… that sucks, because I was planning on taking you out once I got better."

"Maybe in a few months." She amended shakily.

"Are you going to be okay?" He murmured softly.

"I-" She broke off and sobbed into his shirt.

He sighed and wrapped her into a hug, stroking her hair and letting her cry.

"I… I'm s-sorry." She mumbled, pulling back to look at him. "I'm a mess."

"You can be a mess all you want. I'm a mess too. We can both be one big mess." He chuckled weakly.

"I wouldn't mind that." She snickered along.

"Promise me you won't leave," He sounded desperate and that made her wonder how long his storm had been brewing.

"Never, Tony. I've been with you this long. There's no reason for me to leave."

"Not even-" She rolled her eyes and kissed him.

"If I wanted to leave I would have done it a really long time ago… probably right after you started the whole Iron Man thing."

"Yeah, probably even before, back when I was a world-class jerk. Howard would've been proud of me then." He snorted.

"He's got every reason to be proud of you now but he's not here to tell you that. I am. I'm also going to tell you that you've been unconscious for the last week and you need food, Mister!"

"How does Breakfast in bed sound? I don't think I can move that much." He admitted.

"Considering that you got shot almost a week ago, yeah. I doubted you would be able to move. I'll be back."

"No!" He whined. "Pep, don't leave."

Do you want to eat or not?"

"Take me with you."

"You can't move, Tony."

"I can if you take me with you." He countered. She rolled her eyes and got back in the bed.

"I thought we were getting breakfast?"

"You can't move and I'm not about to watch you do something stupid that'll probably cause irreparable damage. Breakfast can wait. You need more rest."

"You're not going to leave are you?"

"If I do I won't be far." She assured him. He gave her a look. "I still have basic needs, Tony, like using the bathroom."

"By the way, how did that work out for me?"

"Your body shut down so it could focus on healing you and you could ingest anything so there was no real need for you to use the bathroom."

"I think I do now." He admitted. Pepper was helping him up in seconds and she practically raced him to the toilet and shut the door.

"Thanks?"

"I refuse to watch you pee on yourself, Tony Stark." She snapped.

_**AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA AT THE COPA**_

_I was going to stop after Tony got shot but that just seemed too cruel. Up next: should I do the team's reactions or Tony's POV of the fight? If you pick the second one I'm warning you I can't write violence all that well but I will try. _


	2. Wait! How are we handling this!

**Here's another chapter! (Fluffiness! I love it!) Thanks for all the followers and those who have favorited. I thrive on your compliments! (Flames will be taken apart for constructive criticism and used to make s'mores.) Anyway, I don't own Avengers. Never have, never will. **

Copacabana

"What the hell happened back there?!" Clint demanded.

"I… don't exactly know." If Captain America could come up with no better answer then they knew they were in deep shit.

"I do." The team's resident engineer hobbled into the room, followed by the furiously protesting CEO who just so happened to be his girlfriend.

"I still think you need help."

"I'll be fine." He assured her for what felt like the millionth time as they entered the team's presence.

"Humor me." She ordered. He rolled his eyes and leaned on her a bit more. Enough so she felt she was significantly supporting his weight but kept them from toppling. Truth be told, she was right. He did need more rest. He felt as though he could sink into a thousand years' worth of sleep he couldn't afford to lose. The world needed the Avengers and he wasn't going to let them go in one member short because he'd gotten territorial.

"What happened?" Clint growled. Tony snorted.

"I said I knew, not that I would tell you."

"I think we deserve to know what exactly it was that prevented us from reaching you, Tony." Bruce gladly interfered before the archer could fly off the handle.

"I got there faster than you because you were all elsewhere and I was actively looking for Pepper. I panicked when I couldn't find her and then I saw that asshole and I got mad. You know you would do the same thing for Natasha, Clint, whether she wanted you to or not."

"That's not what I'm concerned about." Clint spat.

"Why couldn't we reach you, Stark?" Natasha demanded.

"It is not that you could not reach the Man of Iron, but simply that he did not want you to and it was understood. It was not your fight to win, Lady Widow." Thor responded promptly. "It was Anthony Stark's alone."

"And you know this how?"

"'Tis common on Asgard for our warriors to protect those who are unable or unwilling, Friend Hawk. Many a battle have been waged over such matters. We are raised with the concept that we have what is ours and we fight anyone who dares to take that away from us. It was a battle of honor. One which our friend Stark fought with valor and was fortunate to return alive. We should let him heal, not pester him out of confusion."

"Thank you!" Tony huffed.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Pepper, I love you to death, but you're smothering me. I think I can make my own food and avoid getting the crap burnt out of me. It's been known to happen before."

"Anthony Stark, you will sit on that couch and tell me what you want to eat or you won't eat at all. And don't you dare even think about setting foot in that lab of yours. The world can survive without you for a few more days."

"You don't get it!" He scowled.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who does anymore." She murmured . He sighed and nodded.

"Can you make me an omelette?"

"What is up with you and omelettes?! It's like you have some sort of obsession with them! Goodness!" She laughed as she started cooking.

"They're good." He protested.

"Alright, one omelette coming up, but you at least have to have spinach on it."

"And tomatoes!"

"Sure, Tony, now lay back and rest a bit. Your food's not going anywhere but down your throat." She muttered lowly.

"Yes, dear." He chuckled softly and laid back, closing his eyes. "Maybe I could use a bit more sleep."

The remaining Avengers took shifts to make sure he stayed out of the lab and didn't overexert himself. None of them could get the banter out of their heads. Out of all of the people the inventor counted as friends, Pepper seemed to care the most, and the easiness between them didn't just happen over night, like their relationship seemed to. What else didn't they know about Tony?

**Who's ready for Agents of SHIELD tonight?! WOOT WOOOOOOOT! I know I am! I can't wait! Who thinks they know Tony's secret?**


End file.
